The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) Shares Sold by Ariel Investments LLC

Ariel Investments LLC lowered its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:GS) by 23.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,477 shares of the investment management company’s stock after selling 35,014 shares during the period. Ariel Investments LLC’s holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group were worth $67,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 163 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank boosted its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 486 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC increased its position in The Goldman Sachs Group by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Pointe Capital Management LLC now owns 1,660 shares of the investment management company’s stock valued at $951,000 after buying an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Genesee Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Goldman Sachs Group by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Genesee Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,788 shares of the investment management company’s stock worth $1,024,000 after buying an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at The Goldman Sachs Group

In related news, Director John B. Hess acquired 3,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $511.68 per share, with a total value of $1,997,598.72. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,904 shares in the company, valued at $1,997,598.72. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GS shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on The Goldman Sachs Group from $585.00 to $550.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $610.00 to $560.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $660.00 to $594.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $690.00 to $660.00 in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of The Goldman Sachs Group from $760.00 to $720.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $593.40.

The Goldman Sachs Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GS opened at $566.78 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $176.86 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $434.92 and a 1-year high of $672.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $540.70 and its 200-day moving average is $574.80.

The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 14th. The investment management company reported $14.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $12.57 by $1.55. The Goldman Sachs Group had a net margin of 11.32% and a return on equity of 13.30%. The firm had revenue of $15.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.99 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $11.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. will post 47.12 earnings per share for the current year.

The Goldman Sachs Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 30th will be paid a $3.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 30th. This represents a $12.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The Goldman Sachs Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.85%.

The Goldman Sachs Group Company Profile

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc, a financial institution, provides a range of financial services for corporations, financial institutions, governments, and individuals worldwide. It operates through Global Banking & Markets, Asset & Wealth Management, and Platform Solutions segments. The Global Banking & Markets segment provides financial advisory services, including strategic advisory assignments related to mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, corporate defense activities, restructurings, and spin-offs; and relationship lending, and acquisition financing, as well as secured lending, through structured credit and asset-backed lending and involved in financing under securities to resale agreements.